This is a dual thread. The first reference to horsepower is to thank Tube Dude for turning me on to pony jigs. The trout at my local stillwater were hammering a brown sparkly one with a brown marabou tail. The Dude graciously sent me a number of small ponies last year. These ones I can actually fling on my 4 weight flyrod overlined with my new Stillwater line that S. A. sent to replace the coil prone one I returned to them. The succesful lure had a small brass spinner and professional sparkly TubeDude finish. The trout chased it aggressively when i cast it into the shallow water areas. For a brief moment I had a real "hog" on. It was a rainbow that would have gone 7 or 8 pounds.
The other reference to horsepower is I retried some diving fins that I used to use until I aquired my Gliderider tube. When I bought that tube I got a pair of those white bladed "ported" fins that are sold to tubers. I noticed I had a more powerful kick with those diving fins. The downside is that they have a full foot pocket with a heel and are a little more difficult to get on and off a stocking foot wader. I may have just reaquired my "lust" for the Mare Plana Avantis that Tube Dude and Zonker use. Problem is they are well over a hundred dollars here in Canada.
My diving fins are bright turquoise green and highly visible. Do you think that matters to the fish?
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[cool][#0000ff]Glad you are having fun with the "trinkets". I just finished painting up some more small ones, on size 6 and 8 hooks. Supposed to sample Z on a few, if he ever decides to go fishing again.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am of the opinion that the color of fins can be a factor in clear shallow water. Trout have excellent vision and can be either attracted or spooked by the colors. I would recommend against the bright yellow ones, but not sure about shades of blue. That is what I have always used, until I got a smokin' deal on my current black ones from a discount dive shop online. All they had left in my size was black. The only downside has been that carp seem to like black and I have had several try to "get friendly" with my fins while I have been fishing for cats in murky water. That can be unnerving.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you enter "diving fins" in a search engine, you can bring up a lot of online suppliers of all kinds of dive gear at good prices. Maybe Zonker can tell you where he got his. I seem to recall he actually bought them at a storefront operation.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know if you are not successful and I will do some net searching myself for you. The place I got mine is now defunct, but I know you can get them for under $75 US. Not sure about the added costs for Canada. You might also try Ebay.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The good thing about the dive fins we use is the big soft foot pocket, which can handle whatever seasonal variations you have in foot bulk. And, the straps are instant adjustment, with a pushbutton arrangement and a quick release lever. You can put them on while in the tube or make adjustments on the water without having to remove the fins.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]to sample Z on a few, if he ever decides to go fishing again.[/#0000ff] [/reply]
I'm goin' out tomorrow. I have some time off this week (6 days in fact) and I intend to fish like a crazy man. (Already part way there with the crazy, so all I have to add is the fishin'.)
Trouble is, I've acquired a new, er, "hobby," at least until the cool weather returns. I've been carp fishing with flies. I've managed to get a few nice ones on the bug rod and it is down right addictive. They're hard to hook on flies but once you get one you quickly get to see your flyline backing as the fish heads for the far side of the lake and leaves your reel smoking. I release most of my fish anyway and these fish really put a pull on the old graphite sticks. I've seen them to about 20 pounds in the places I fish. I know I've slipped over to the dark side and I feel just a little bit funny about bringing it up here - but hey, you only go around once and I'm comfortable enough in my skin.
Now if I can just figure out how to incorporate my tubin' into the equation...
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]Maybe I need to get some black fins like you have and attract the carp that way.
z~
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Don,
Nice wordplay on the "pony" and "horsepower." It took me a minute but I got it. I'm looking forward to feeding some of those to some of our local trout.
My Mares fins are blue (as you've no doubt noticed in the pictures) and they don't seem to spook the fish. 'Course that isn't a scientific evaluation. A guy ought to go with what gives him confidence. My theory is that the fish generally aren't afraid of things under the water. As I've written before, the dive fins with the soft foot pockets and quick snap straps are really nice. Super comfey.
z~
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[cool][#0000ff]No apologies necessary on this board, for having a bit of fun with carpkind. I caught my first one at age 12, shortly after moving to California from Idaho, and that memorable battle quickly convinced me that carp could be fun on the other end of the line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Like yourself, I have deliberately flung flies to those "buglemouth browns". And, also like yourself, I have found them to be more of a challenge on fly tackle than many of the wariest troutskis. And, I have also had the pleasure of seeing them do their magic act...making your line disappear off the reel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is an amazing number of US anglers who are "lowering their standards", swallowing their pride and ignoring the taunts of fellow fishermen...and going after carp. As you point out, if you are going to release the fish anyway, all you really oughtta care about is the challenge of getting a taker and the battle it provides.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About the newly painted pony heads, I intended to wrap a few, for examples, and send you some bare ones to decorate with your own favorite flavors. The weather is funky this week so I should get some done. I have been wrapping some big stuff for the fall fling over here, but I can probably downscale for awhile to get you some stuff to play with.[/#0000ff]
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I guess it was inevitable that I would post a carp pic or two. Here are a few recent customers and some nice scenery.
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This is a purely sight fishing game. You move along the shoreline, spot fish feeding, tails up, in shallow water, stalk them like a heron, cast accurately and softly, and then try to hone your senses to detect the pickup of the fly before the fish blows it back out. They're harder to catch than bass, trout, steelhead, or salmon because of the way they take the fly. There's barely a wiggle and rather than feel it, you have to "sense" it. Once hooked up these guys blast off for parts unknown, break tippets, straighten hooks. What a rush. And... virtually nobody fishes for them. If you can get over the unearned stigma that carp have, you can brighten some otherwise dim days, IMHO. Great sport!
The beauty of it for me this year was that they fish best during the dog days of summer when the trout are either lethargically hugging the bottom or are going belly up and the bass are nowhere to be found.
I haven't applied my hard earned tubeology to the equation yet. Not sure if the low riding position will allow me to see into the water sufficiently. On the other hand, from experience with other fishies, I might be able to get much closer without worrying about foot vibrations and sucking mud sounds alerting them.
TD, I'm looking forward to those pony jigs, but don't use precious fishing time because of me. Wait until the water hardens. That's when I'll be using them anyway since water here will still be open.
BTW, that first pic is a slough off the Willamette.
[
]Don, sorry for hijacking your post.
z~
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[cool][#0000ff]Ah, yes, the good ol' Willamette. I have had the opportunity to fish it north of Salem and those backwaters hold some good bass too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had a good friend that lived in Salem and we would throw flies and lures for the bajillions of squawfish (pikeminnows) in some stretches of the river. Some evenings they would be jumping and boiling all up and down the river.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have checked in a lot of websites for carp fishing. They have a pretty good following. Some of them offer good info on tying flies for carp and fishing them too. I used to have a link to a video on fly fishing for carp, but it is not working now. I can pass along this link to an article on carp flies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][url "http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/tyingcarpflies05.html"]LINK TO ARTICLE[/url][/#0000ff]
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Quote:[size 1]Wait until the water hardens. That's when I'll be using them anyway since water here will still be open. [/size]
Way to rub it in Dave. The water will probably be even harder up here in Canada.
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Way to rub it in Dave. The water will probably be even harder up here in Canada. [/reply]
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He He.
Caught some more carp today. What a blast! A 5-10 pound fish every time I hook up. Perfect on a 5 weight.
Thanks for the link, TD.
z~
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[black][size 3]Hey zonker,[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]They are fun on a 4 weight too ![/size][/black]
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Smallmouth, not sure what the pony jig is but here in the NE, many of us have found a 'rootbeer fly" which has a brown pearl eztaz body and brown marabou tail , all tied on a clouser style rig. Simple to tie and AWSOME fly for bass in many waters. Sounds very similar.
As for fins, I reciently splurged on a new fat cat ( due to advice from this board, including yours) and figured I should upgrade my Creek Co fins that deliver great thrust but have hard and cramped foot pockets that get painfull after a while. After some research, I came up with "OceanWays Vortec Adjustable Full Foot Fins" that can be had for under $40 if you shop on the net. ( Do a search on the quote to get info)
They have been written up by some dive equipment supplyers very favorably as inovative, comfortable and having good performance. What I like (besides price) is that they have a very soft and open toe foot pocket ( like traditional full foot fins) for comfort but are adjustable so they should lock your foot (booted or not) in securely. ( Without the hassle of guessing at fin size only to find out you were wrong.) I havn't tried them yet but have a set inbound to me as we speak. I hope to put them through sea trials this weekend and am pretty optimistic. I'll keep you posted.
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[cool][#0000ff]"pony jigs" are the same as Roadrunners, but that name is trademarked by the Blakemore company. They are little funny shaped heads with a spinner blade on them. Great stuff. You can tie them up with your favorite patterns or get creative.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here is a pic of some of the colors and patterns that work well in the fly rod sizes.[/#0000ff]
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Fishhound,
Nice fish. They surely do like to run with your line. I've seen more of my backing that I've seen for a long time since starting to fish for these.
Here's a [url "http://www.fliesandfins.com/fishvideos/nycarp.wmv"]video[/url] of come carp fly fishing.
Caught some today.
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Cooler weather will soon shut this fishing down for the year.
z~
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Dave,
Just so you won't feel guilty about the hijacking,,,,,,,,
Those are some nice horses you have caught with your flyrod. Those carp have a lot of horsepower. Have you been spooled yet? Do these fish invariably take you into your backing? Are you using a 6 weight? What kind of flies? (nymphs?) Are you sight fishing these fish? As you can tell by all the questions, I gotta get into this next year. It looks like fun!
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Hi Don,
I guess if I have the original poster bailing me out then I'm OK.
You're right. Nice horses. And certainly lots of horsepower.
I haven't been totally spooled yet but these are "smaller" fish. The biggest one so far I estimate at about ten pounds. They have taken me into my backing though.
The rod in the picture is a five weight. It is about right for these fish and I can cast more accurately with it than with a heavier rod. Fishing in other areas that have the big 20 and 30 pound bruisers, I'll use a 6 or a 7. I'm new at this so just take my pronouncements with a grain of salt.
I've been using a beadhead rubber leg Hare's Ear and a black girdle bug, both tied without weight and with bead chain eyes to help the hook ride point up. I've tied up about a hundred "carp" flies but I think any standard trout nymph in size 8 or 10 would work. Wooly Buggers would work well.
And yes, I sight fish and sneak around. In fact, unless you get the fly close to the fishes' nose you probably won't catch him. My experience so far is that they won't move very far for a fly. However, it is interesting that they will sometimes suck a fly in from over a foot away. You seldom "feel" the strike so you have to watch the fish itself for any abnoral movements. They will suck the fly in then quickly blow it out about in probably less than two seconds.
Poloroid sunglasses and bright, high sun are a must.
Lots of fun but I have lots more to learn. I think you would enjoy it.
z~
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Don,
A good book on the subject (and some good winter reading when you can't get out and fish) is Carp Fishing on the Fly by Barry Reynolds, Brad Befus, and John Berryman. It is probably the standard reference for this kind of fishing. Carp behavior, methods, flies - its all there. If you decide to fish for carp I recommend it for getting you up to speed.
Knowing when and where to fish and the kinds of behavior that indicate actively feeding fish are important if you're going to use a fly rod. They don't behave like trout or bass. If you just start flinging flies at visible fish you'll probably be disappointed and give up. I didn't fish for them for many years because I didn't now they would take a fly and the few times I tried I got blanked. For the most part I'm not into bait fishing (nothing against it, I just prefer to fish with flies) so that pretty well crossed them off my list. Now that I know they will take flies I'm chasing them with gusto - and having fun doing it.
z~
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][green][size 3]We had that book at Orvis....should have bought it when I had the chance. It is an ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW book. For the locals here in Utah, go to Cabela's and pick Lance Egan's brain. He has caught more Carp and is on more magazine covers for it.[/size][/green][/font]
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Ok you guys, (zonker and others) enough talk about catchun, how about eatun??? [
] You ain't with it as a liberated/educated fishing person unless you eat em!!! Are you eating em and how do you cook em? As for myself, I cook em, pan fried just like a bass or any other good fish after removing the bones. If they are big, I simply fillet em and steam em with a cream sause. removal ot the bones is easier on big fish. As long as they are from fresh water, they are a lot better than the slim fish (trout). [shocked] Put that in your pipe and smoke it. [
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Leaky
Never ate one yet as I haven't caught one yet!!!!! How did it taste?
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Hey Leaky,
[cool]Good to hear from you. We haven't heard from you in awhile.
As for carp, it's enough for me to have one on the end of the line, have him strip line off my reel, land him, and release him to fight another day. I do that with a lot of other fish, too.
That said, if you like them, go right ahead and eat them. I've heard that worldwide they are the most widely consumed fish.
I'll stick to C&R for this one.
z~
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